Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire bogus traffic stop

Number 3
You have the right to free
Speech as long as you're not
Dumb enough to actually try it

Know your rights
These are your rights
All three of 'em

Hard to tell if you're describing the common loudmouth or the common County Mounty/State Trooper.

Nothing much going on so I will add to this world shaking event.

Hey, nobody knows what was on the radio. Cop may have been asked to look for truck and boat sort of like yours. Had to make a stop for something. Only got a warning ticket, forgetabout it. Ain't worth the hassle to be mad about. Lordy, the cop may just have been bored and you looked interesting.

Funniest stop I ever was in was because of a license plate light out, sort of.

I had a ton of feed on my pickup and was coming back after dark from the Co-Op. Cold night. This was in one of the old pickups where the lights grounded on the bumper where they plugged in.

Directly the bubble gum machine comes on behind me. I pull over knowing I wasn't speeding, hell my truck wouldn't go that fast.
I get out and walk back. Here is this young kid, DPS Troup all shined up. I would bet it was his first assignment after the got out of cop school.

We go through the license and registration bit. I ask him what I was doing. He says license plate lights not working. I look and sure enough one of them isn't. I kicked the bumper and both came on.

They are now I said. Well, they weren't he says. He kicks the bumper and they both go out. See he says they are out. I kick the bumper and they come back on.

They ain't out, I says.

He kicks the bumper, out again. Yeah, they are he says. I kick, no they ain't I says when they come back on again.

I am getting colder than the dickens so I ask him if I can go get my jacket while we thrash this out. He says ok so I go get it and come back with a screwdriver in my hand.

Troup kind of backs up a step. I ask him to hold his light on my bumper. Pried out the license lights and scraped around the contacts and poped them back in. Both working.

I kick bumber, still working, he kicks bumper, still working.

They were out, he says. Maybe so I say but they work now.

Got to give you a warning ticket he says. Do what every you got to do I says, because I am getting cold. He says he is too and writes me a warning.

We shook hands and parted after about twenty minutes of comedy.

Warning ticket, no big thing. Getting stopped, no big thing either unless you choose to make it so.


BCR

+1. Never really understood why those who enforce the law are somehow exempt from it.

Having said that, I have been stopped several times through the years for crossing the center line, when I knew I had not, for speeding with the speed control set, etc.. Normally have no complaint if the office is polite. Have had a couple that got beligerent when I politely pointed out they were wrong. Never got a ticket at one of these stops though, which pretty much makes me know I was in the right. JMHO TM

Exactly how I feel. A badge and a gun are not a license to be an arsehole or to be dishonest.

Your'e absolutely right...why do you think I look so good?

I am not a one to shy from criticizing LE. In this case, I can see little wrong though. I've pulled a boat quite a bit, and as the others have said, if it's working one time, it might not be the next. As far as I know, there is no "right" to drive. The states consider it a "privilege" and can pull your license for a number of reasons. They ain't tasering or beating you with a billy club, so call it good and move on, what I say anyway.

I remember reading a story once about a woman who noticed a policecar behind her (no lights, just 'behind' her).. She carefully drove toward home for some miles before all of a sudden the lights went on. She pulled over, waited for the cop and asked what did she do wrong. "Nothing," he said, " I pulled you over because you were driving so perfectly that I was sure you didn't have a license."

Yep, probable cause... Geez...

It has been suggested
In some quarters that this is not enough!
Well..............................

Get off the streets
Get off the streets
Run

Believe me if you will, but when I read the title of your post,
I instinctively KNEW you were talking about the People's
Republic of MD! God, but I hate this State and most of the
people who run it (ruin it?). If I didn't have family here and
own property here, I'd drop this place like it was a diseased
rabbit.

I'm not at all surprised by your misadventure. The sheer, pre-
sumptuous arrogance of the MD State Police and the
Montgomery County Police beggar description. One can only hope
that Karma truly does exist; if so, those people are in deep
kim chi.

Funniest episode of Mayberry I ever saw was when Sheriff Taylor made Barney write himself a ticket for making a u-turn.

Just a SWAG, from having been there before...the cop was looking for a vehicle that fit the description. Cops make mistakes. From the sound of it he gave you little problem other than a bogus excuse for why he pulled YOU over...AND he didn't write a ticket...it comes under the no harm no foul rule. Being momentarily detained under such circumstances wouldn't get you squat in court... not even past summary judgement.

If the cop had said he made a mistake, would that have made you feel any better about it, or would you still be really wondering? Think about it. He pulled you over and you were on your way in short order...what would have been the point in that? No search, no ticket, no nothing but a bogus PC reason? Just a cop afraid to say "sorry I got the wrong car." Again, just a SWAG on my part, but I guess he could have had some sinister motive to pull you over and tell you your lights were out, then let you tell him they are working fine. Do cops occassionally use bogus PC to get to stop and search? Im sure they do...I can't think of a single reason to just stop someone for $hits and Giggles.

Finally then I will read you your rights

You have the right to remain silent
You are warned that anything you say
Can and will be taken down
And used as evidence against you

Listen to this
Run

I obviously speak of the common "bully in school, now can't stand to answer to anybody, get pissed off because big bad police officer writes me a ticket or has the audacity to stop me, can't bully the cop, so now I'll go home and kick the dog and beat the wife" type loudmouth. See them all the time.

Either that, or you've got the "daddy's girl" who has been told all her life she can do no wrong, taught that if she squirts a few tears that she'll get her way, and then throws a temper tantrum when that doesn't work. They're the "princesses" with the "gifts" of gold, and cannot handle it when that so called "gift" don't buy them any leverage with a guy who could give two chits.

I swear, if an LEO was accused of breaking a window to rescue a baby from a burning building, there are those in this forum who would have problems with it. Everyone in the world has the right to be innocent until proven guilty, except LEO's, right?

Hey, I've been given bogus tickets before myself. Got pulled over by some bored Kansas trooper once. Said I was doing 75 in a 65. Bullchit. Had the cruise set to 65, and had the speedometer checked by radar before I left on my trip. It was dead nuts on. Then the jerkoff says "I had to do 85 to catch up to you". What the hell does that mean? If I was doing 66 mph, he could have done 100 to catch up to me, don't mean I was speeding. But, you put it together...bored trooper, and an out of stater (won't come back to contest). That equals a ticket from an azzhole. Don't make them all, or even the majority bad. Certainly doesn't make me think all LEOs are azzholes out on some power trip.

And, how many of us here have had an officer pull us over for something we know damn well we were doing wrong, and let us go with a verbal? I know it's happened to me a few times...more times than I've been stopped without apparent cause (which was just the once), that's for sure. Got pulled over last year in Nevada doing 80 in a 65. Wasn't paying attention, and told the officer as much when he asked me why I was speeding. I was polite and courteous, and accepted responsability for my screw up. Told him I was aparently too busy searching out a can of almonds to notice the slower speed limit sign at the top of the hill. What do you know, I was let off with a verbal. Treat an officer with couresy and respect, and he'll likely do the same in return. Get mouthy and be an azzhole, and he'll likely return the favor. Funny how that works....

And one last thing. I doubt there is 1 out of 5 cars on the road that would not have legitimate reason for a traffic stop if I were to follow them for a reasonable distance without the driver being aware of my presence. PC for a stop is pathetically easy to obtain. If you don't believe me, pick up a copy of your state vehicle code sometime and browse through it. You'll be amazed at the number of infractions you probably break without even knowing it. There is almost no reason to ever even need to manufacture a reason for a stop, because they're just not that hard to come by.

Just sounds like the cop lied to me. No excuse for lying in the case as described. If he was too vain to admit he stopped the wrong car, he's too vain. If he's looking for someone else he didn't have to lie about it. All professions have liars, but there should be alot fewer in LE.

Now the cop's a liar rather than the driver being mistaken as to the lights working properly or not? Sheesh!!...What an incredible group of whiners we have here, at times.

Unless you're a cop, you're not privilege to the behind the scenes office and coffee shop conversations that cops have, so trying to guess whether cops are distancing themselves or supporting the action of another LEO is just a guess on your part. Yeah, I've seen, worked with, and fought with cops who make bad decisions. As a whole though, I've been lied to MUCH less by other cops than by the general public. The "it's only wrong if you get caught," or "it's not a lie if that's how I see it," or "F the government, I'll lie under oath if it get's me out of this ticket," attitudes are very pervasive in today's society. Yeah, law enforcement has changed in the last 50 years, but so has society. Liars are liars regardless of their profession. I've got no patience with any of them and am not afraid to speak my mind. I've had folks admit to me that they're always completely honest when stopped for speeding, and have gotten out of several tickets because the cops find such behavior a rarity anymore.

If I've counted right, I've been stopped six times over the last 22yrs. A couple times I was out of line and deserved a ticket that I didn't get through the grace of the cop who stopped me. The other four were BS stops that had me revved up at the time because they were either completely unjustified or simply fishing expeditions that I could understand, but the behavior of the cop was very poor during the stop. My point is, when I hear guys saying here or elsewhere "I get stopped all the time," I think it's time for them to look more closely at themselves and what they're doing to attract so much attention. Are there badge-heavy cops who troll the streets looking for folks to piss off? Yep. Are there citizens who troll the streets with a disdane for traffic law? Yep. Is there a possibility that the trailer wiring was loose? Yep. Is there a chance that the cop made an unlawful stop? Yep.

These "discussions" are usually just a front for a belly-aching contest about cops so I steer clear of most of them. Nobody seems to really be looking for answers, just a place to bitch. Bottom line, those folks who drive like they should will meet fewer LEOs than those who drive like they don't really care. YMMV....

BB,

Its one thing to tell a material lie to make up a charge, its all togther another to make up some trivial BS for a harmless mistake.

Remrug,

I got stopped by a Maryland State Trooper once and got a ticket for exceeding the speed limit.That was in 1964 right in front of our farm and I was speeding.That was my first and last ticket, not that I have always obeyed the traffic laws perfectly in the past 40 some years tho...:)

I was a LEO with Montgomery County for about 10 years when I got out of the service.At the time, that was one of the better, more professional departments in the entire nation.Even then there were line officers I disliked working with as they had an attitude which could provoke a sheep to fight..and usually did.
I spoke my mind to my shift sergeant on more than one occasion.Several of thos thugs moved on to different vocations under poor circumstances.LEO managment and other line officers are not blind to those among them who are poorly suited to the job-profession..it just sometimes takes time, documentation or a very serious incident to weed them out.

I moved on to a different vocation years ago and haven't lived in or been back to Maryland for over 35 years.The reports I hear from folks who do live in Montgomery County now are not very good, but times change..sometimes for the worse..Present Chief Chas Moose was Chief in Portland Oregon prior to taking the job as chief in Montgomer Co Md.
I didn't care for him when he was here and many of those who worked under him didn't either.

In retrospect, you might have simply thanked the officer for stopping you to let you know the running lights weren't working..and asked him IF you could get out to take take a look-see..

Generally, just getting out of the vehicle unless requested to by the officer( particularly at night) will make tensions rise..

He may have allowed you and your friend to talk and to get out and walk to assess your sobriety..A probable long day fishing and two fellows heading home with a truck-boat will yield probably a 30% rate of DUI among drivers in many states.

In most states, any driver may be pulled over.. if for nothing else than to verify valid driver's license and proper registration-insurance...seat belt use, carseats etc etc..

No suspicion or PC is needed..it's a small invasion of our space we all must waive as MV operators if we wish to lawfully operate a MV on the highways.

Anyhow, glad you and your friend weren't at risk for any other matter..and wouldn't hurt to run thru the circuitry of the trailer lighting and stop lamps and connections in the light of day as boat trailer wiring gets alot of abuse from water and bouncing along.
What you saw as a frivolous stop beats getting rear ended at night IF the lights fail intermittently or are faulty...:) Jim

The trailer stop for the light is obviously something that could have been real or he could have been fishing for a couple Bucky's straight off the lake who had a few too many Bud's. We'll never know.

In the example I gave there is no margin for "maybe". The Trooper flat out lied that he clocked me at 85 mph. He had zero reason to pull me over. He was parked under an overpass and had roughly 3 seconds of visual of my car before he pulled out and could not have observed any other offense in that time nor did he use any other excuse. He said "I clocked you going 85 mph" period.
He did not even have his radar unit on, nor did he use any handheld lidar or instant on radar gun. If he really had clocked me, I seriously doubt he's gonna let me go without even a warning for 15 mph over the speed limit with an infant strapped in a car seat on Memorial day weekend, so let's be realistic.

I was courteous as could be as he was a big african american and I wasn't about to give him any excuse to have an attitude. He was extremely rude and when i told him it was not possible for me to have been going 85 mph, he got down right indignant.

I don't care how the public acts, I know there are arseholes by the barrel out there, but when you accept a badge and gun and assume a role of authority you better be honest and at least attempt civility or go work as a bouncer, cause I really don't give a damn if you had a bad day. Don't pull me the fark over for obeying the law if you can't handle being called on an obvious lie.

A dishonest cop is worse than a criminal in my opinion. The authority vested in them comes with responsibility.

And anyone that truly believes that driving is just a privilege and that you should be allowed to be pulled over at any time for no reason is in the wrong country. I'm no Libertarian but thats a real warped sense of what the Bill Of Rights is all about.

As far as bellyaching, if someone in LE on here could honestly tell me why a Trooper would pull me over under the circumstances and lie about it, I'll gladly bow out of this thread.